Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A variety of robotic systems exist to enable surgical procedures to be performed by a surgeon operating such a robotic system. The surgeon could be proximate to the robotic system (e.g., in the same room as the robotic system and patient, or in an adjacent room) or could be very distant from the robotic system. The commands of the surgeon can be transmitted across the distance (e.g., over the internet) to control the operation of the robotic system; conversely, information generated by sensors of the robotic system (e.g., images generated by cameras, forces detected through surgical instruments) could be transmitted across the distance and presented to the surgeon (e.g., through a display, through haptic feedback). Such robotic systems could include a variety of surgical instruments, including imaging tools, forceps, hemostats, retractors, sources of suction, and scalpels. Further, such robotic systems could include a plurality of actuated robotic arms on which such surgical instruments could be disposed and whose configuration could be controlled directly by a surgeon (e.g., by operating a haptic controller, joystick, or other input(s)). Such robotic systems can enable a single surgeon to perform surgical procedures on patients distributed across a wide geographical region and/or patients located in hard-to-reach locations. Further, such robotic systems can enable a surgeon to have much finer or otherwise improved control of surgical instruments used during a surgical procedure.